Mrs. Grey went to Copenhagen, and there writes in her journal at the beginning of 1869 the following sketch of the tour:--
“_January 12._--Soon after breakfast I went to see my dear Princess, and to hear something of the proposed plans. I found her, as usual, most kind and affectionate, but very sorry that the few weeks she had been able to spend with her father and mother had come to an end. Her visit seemed to have been a great happiness to her. It is now arranged that we shall set out for our long journey on the 15th, and that while I accompany Her Royal Highness as her lady-in-waiting, Lady Carmarthen and Colonel Keppel, who accompanied the Prince and Princess from England in November, shall part from us at Hamburg, and, with Sir W. Knollys, take the Royal children home. The plan is for us to pass by Berlin and Vienna, and embark on board the _Ariadne_ frigate, fitted as a yacht, at Trieste; sail from thence to Alexandria; and, after going up the Nile as far as the Second Cataract, to visit Constantinople, the Crimea, and Greece, before returning home somewhere about the beginning of May. Such is the plan made out for us, but it is, of course, open to many changes, as the political state of things between Greece and Turkey at the present moment may, after all, very possibly upset the latter part of the journey; and in that case we shall return home through Italy.”
King Edward and Queen Alexandra were joined at Trieste by Prince Louis of Battenberg, the Duke of Sutherland, Dr. (afterwards Sir) W. H. Russell, and other friends, together with their suite. There the Royal party embarked on board H.M.S. _Ariadne_, which had been specially fitted up for their reception. Of the accommodation in this vessel Mrs. Grey gives an attractive account:--
“The _Ariadne_, in reality a man-of-war, but for this occasion fitted up as a yacht, is most comfortable. The Prince and Princess have two large sleeping cabins, besides a large cabin for a sitting-room, and another for a dining-room. I have a charming cabin also, with a bath-room outside, and my maid next door to me. In short, I think we were all much pleased with the accommodation and arrangement of what is to be our _home_, while at sea, for the next four months.”